THE sign of the scorpion has long been synonymous with sporting heritage, style and race-bred performance.

And it has just delivered a double dose of venom with the arrival of red-hot stablemates the Abarth 500C and Abarth Punto Evo.

The marque, founded in 1949 by Austrian Carlo Abarth, took motorsport by storm in the 1960s with a roll of honour that boasted 10 world records, 133 international records and more than 10,000 track victories.

Abarth is now owned by Turin giant Fiat and in the two years since the scorpion badge was launched in the UK on the Grande Punto, the story has been one of consistent success.

In fact Britain has proved the biggest market for Abarth outside Italy, with sales almost double the forecast figure - and in the 500C and Punto Evo the Italians have a pair of serious headturners.

The more dramatically dressed of the two, the convertible Abarth 500C, is being described by Fiat as its million dollar baby.

It follows the hard-top version which arrived 18 months ago and features the same 1.4-litre turbo engine, though a re-programming of the ECU adds extra punch, boosting power to 140bhp.

Result is 0-62mph acceleration of 8.1 seconds, a top speed of 128mph and cleaner credentials of 151g/km of CO2.

The Abarth 500C really looks the part with its electric hood, deep side skirts and snazzy interior, and its stand-out feature is undoubtedly the Abarth Competizione gearbox giving drivers the option of changing gear via paddles mounted behind the steering wheel.

A test route on some of the finest roads in North Yorkshire revealed that this is the only way to drive the 500C because the full auto mode is way too lurchy for a performance focused car.

Engaging the Sport button weights up the steering and sharpens the throttle response, then listen for the rasping engine note that comes via the twin tailpipes.

I also like the way the traditional gearlever is replaced by a pod of four buttons mounted on the dash console for neutral, reverse, first and manual/automatic.

A manual gearbox is due to arrive later in the year along with an 'esseesse' performance kit that boosts output to 160bhp, speeds up shift times for the Competizione box, provides a brake upgrade and adds 17-inch alloys.

Standard equipment is far-reaching - from seven airbags, ABS and Xenon headlights to sports seats, leather steering wheel and Blue&Me hands-free system - but space in the rear is very tight and the price is quite tasty at £17,500.

Those really wanting to push the boat out can get their names down for the limited edition Abarth Tributo Ferrari 1695 in genuine Ferrari colour schemes. Just 150 will be available here at a cost of 35,500 euros.

The Abarth Punto Evo, an evolution of the Abarth Grande Punto that heralded the re-birth of the marque in 2008, features a version of the 1.4-litre MultiAir Turbo petrol engine already used by the Fiat group.

Its 165bhp of power rockets the car to a 0-62 time of 7.9 seconds and on to a top speed of 133mph via a six-speed manual gearbox while returning 47.1mpg on the Combined cycle.

And by employing Start/Stop technology plus a gearshift indicator the Evo emits an un-performance car-like CO2 figure of 142g/m.

On the road it's a really agile, dynamic car to drive - again with Sport option - as proved by the way it excelled in racetrack conditions at the Teesside Autodrome.

It costs £16,500, comes like the 500C with various optional stripes, mirrors and trim liners from as little as £46, and will also have an esseesse tuning kit from November.